Linde consolidates U.S. Electronics and Specialty Gases

Trade News

Murray Hill, New Jersey, U.S., 11 March 2010 – The Electronics and Specialty Gases business of Linde North America will consolidate its customer services operations in a state-of-the-art facility in Stewartsville, New Jersey, beginning 12 March 2010.

Linde North America is a member of The Linde Group, a leading global gases and engineering company. The consolidation is part of the integration of Spectra Gases, Inc., which Linde purchased in 2006.

Linde’s electronics and specialty gases business is a leading global supplier of a wide range of products – from high-purity nitrogen and rare gases to electronic process gases such as hydrogen chloride, sulfur hexafluoride, silane and halothanes. Customers supplied include the most important industry leaders in semiconductor manufacturing, medical, scientific research, fiber optics, environmental testing and compliance, laser applications and lighting.

Staff at the new facility will manage domestic and international order processing and logistics support for Linde‘s Electronics and Specialty Gases business. Previously, those functions were handled at multiple facilities in New Jersey and Massachusetts. The facility will also serve as the headquarters for Linde’s U.S. Electronics and Specialty Gases business.

“Having our customer service, sales management, operations, distribution, import-export and engineering management co-located will insure that our valued customers and business partners receive the service and responsiveness they deserve,” said Cliff Caldwell, vice president for Linde’s Electronics and Specialty Gases business.

“Linde has employed state of the art management resource planning (MRP) tools and customer relationship management (CRM) tools to assure our customers receive the highest level of customer service and that inventory levels throughout the supply chain are maintained as efficiently as possible,” said Robert White, customer service manager. “Additionally, it will be staffed to give customers individualized support,” White said.

The Stewartsville facility has been the new home of Linde’s National Operations Center since October, 2009. The National Operations Center houses Linde’s customer engineering services, logistics, delivery scheduling and fleet management, remote operations and monitoring of the company’s network of over 70 atmospheric and process gas plants throughout the U.S., Canada and Mexico. From this location, Linde logistics personnel schedule 35,000 product deliveries per month to approximately 10,000 bulk customers throughout North America.

The Linde Group is a world leading gases and engineering company with almost 48,000 employees working in more than 100 countries worldwide. In the 2009 financial year it achieved sales of EUR 11.2 billion (USD 15.3 billion). The strategy of The Linde Group is geared towards sustainable earnings-based growth and focuses on the expansion of its international business with forward-looking products and services. Linde acts responsibly towards its shareholders, business partners, employees, society and the environment – in every one of its business areas, regions and locations across the globe. Linde is committed to technologies and products that unite the goals of customer value and sustainable development.